KING WILLIAM — King William County’s Planning Commission is considering a proposal to host church services in an auto repair workshop.
The Redemption House of Prayer has been holding services at the Mechanics of Faith auto repair facility at 102 Sharon Road since the summer.
However, building improvements were carried out at the industrial premises without permits, Planner Joyce Wolfe told the commission on Oct. 7.
A building inspector required the building owner to apply for an electrical permit, while the health department pointed to the omission of a permit for a septic system. The planning department is asking for a wastewater study to be submitted to the health department.
“Those are needed to affirm that the building can actually be used for the use that is being requested, which is a religious assembly in the industrial district which requires a conditional use permit,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe said the planning department wants the Redemption House of Prayer to hold services in a “safe environment.” The application was deferred from the last commission meeting in September. “We have not had any movement on the items that were to be addressed,” Wolfe said.
No more than 50 people can attend services in the premises, Wolfe said. She said a room has been set up at the back of the workshop. The church previously held services in Mechanicsville in neighboring Hanover County. The use of the industrial buildings for services is likely to be a temporary arrangement, Wolfe said.
Mechanics of Faith is a ministry that works with local nonprofits to provide automotive services to people in need, according to its website.
The commission unanimously deferred the plan to set up the church in the auto workshop on Sharon Road until the applicant is ready to proceed.
“The applicant is not the one that has caused the issues; it’s the building owner,” Wolfe said. “The owner does seem willing to comply. It’s just taken a bit longer.”
“It’s hard for religious assemblies to find places to meet temporarily until they can build,” agreed planning commission Chair Darrell Kellum.
David Macaulay, Davidmacaulayva@gmail.com
